Well Loved and Folded
by YumKiwiDelicious
Summary: Judy's whole chest felt like it had seized up in the best kind of shock. For all their stolen moments, their unspoken ties, a part of her had always believed Nick still kept her at a cool distance. That all the oddities of their relationship, both public and secret, were just him humoring her emotional bunny nature. That he didn't feel the same. But now here was proof.


It was late when Judy and Nick finally made it back to his place from the precinct. Processing Flash and impounding his vehicle had taken and agonizingly long time and the first bunny cop had been all but banging her head against the wall when they'd finally been able to clock out. Nick had lured her over with the promise of take out and her newly discovered favorite brand of carrot juice and the two officers dragged themselves into his little apartment throwing yawns back and forth between them like an exhausting game of catch. They were both stiff from a morning cramped in the cruiser and an afternoon hunched over in their desk chairs. Judy swore she would have some firm words for Flash when they went and checked on him in the morning.

"I need a hot shower, hot food, and sleep," announced Nick to his living room as they entered, already tugging at his work tie. "And if I wake up with a crick in my neck I am really gonna let Flash have it."

Judy chuckled tiredly, throwing herself down on the fox's couch. "Get in line, slick."

Her partner merely hummed low in his muzzle and climbed over the back of the couch, behind Judy. They'd both left their belts -guns and badges- at the station, and so only their itchy uniforms lay between them as Nick cuddled up behind the bunny, large paws folding her into him. Judy's nose twitched as she breathed in his scent, letting it go in a sigh when she leaned back into him. This was why she'd really come. Why she always came.

It wasn't anything official, but it was definitely something. Nick and Judy, after the fox had gotten his badge, seemed even more drawn together than before. Their fleeting touches and significant glances didn't go unnoticed, but they had the unspoken agreement that things like this were kept strictly behind closed doors. They were only friends after all. Friends that spent every waking moment together and then some. Friends that curled into each other after a hard day of watching each other's back. Friends that didn't talk about any of that.

"Food on its way?"

"Nah, you order it," Nick grumbled, brushing his cheek over his partner's head, scenting her. Her heart thumped a beat faster as he gave her a gentle squeeze before getting up. "I'm gonna shower first then you can hop in."

Judy had half her closet here. They didn't talk about that either.

Nick was well into his shower when she hung up his landline. She'd ordered some noodles and crawlers from their favorite Chinese place around the corner and it'd arrive before the fox's fur dried. Judy dug through her wallet and mumbled what passed as a curse in Bunnyburrow when she realized she didn't have any cash on her. With a sigh she hopped off the couch and headed towards Nick's one bedroom. The water cut off right as she leaned on the doorframe, ears perked up to hear him through the bathroom door.

"Nick," she called, "I need some cash for the food."

"Wallet's on the bed!"

That was only partially true. Nick's wallet was in his pants and his pants were on the bed, along with his uniform shirt and tie. Judy smirked to herself, sliding onto the mattress easily as she began patting down the pile of clothes for the elusive wallet. Back right pocket, like usual. She dug it out without much fanfare and had just flipped it open when there was a knock on the front door.

"Coming!"

She turned back to the wallet, fingering out a few dollars when something slipped out of it onto her lap. Judy blinked at the folded bit of paper and reached down to open it, ready to tell Nick he really shouldn't keep old receipts in his billfold when she froze.

Because it wasn't an old receipt.

It was a picture.

Of Judy.

What's more, it was a picture of Judy not in uniform. Which is to say it wasn't recent. It looked instead like it had been taken not long before she went to academy, she was still in her civilian clothes from back home. The picture was ripped from something larger, whoevers arm had been slung around her missing from this piece. Judy stared down at herself, completely missing another knock on the door as she tried to place the photograph.

She looked happy in the picture, there was that. Her smile was bright and her eyes shined with that naive hope and optimism Nick had spotted in her on one of their first meetings. It made her look young. It made her look pretty.

As another knock pounded through the apartment, Nick came out of his bathroom in a cloud of steam, a towel slung around his lower half as he hurried to the bed. Judy flinched when he snatched the wallet from where she'd set it down, forgotten, on her knee, asking if she had water stuck in her ears. She listened as he hurried to the front of his home and paid for their meal, kicking up apologetically polite conversation with their usual delivery guy, Wilbur. Then she could hear him milling around in the kitchen area, pulling down plates and such. She turned back to the photo.

She recognized it now. It had been her sisters birthday. Her favorite sister. The whole burrow had lit up with life and fun and they'd spent the day as a family. Not one argument or sideways look or odd comment about Judy's out there dreams of being the first bunny cop. It had been one of the best days she'd had with her entire family in a long time and she'd commemorated it by taking a picture with Janice, the hare of the hour. She'd framed the picture in her bedroom and looked at it fondly whenever she'd gone back home after that. Janice was married with bunnies of her own now and rarely visited.

Judy loved this picture.

And so did Nick apparently.

The corners were dog-eared from the wear and tear of being kept in a wallet for so long. The ones Judy's dad kept of all of them looked the same, and the cop knew the soft creases around the edges were because he took them out to look at them so often. Nick clearly did the same since even the side of the photo where her sister had been ripped off was soft and malleable. Rubbed smooth by a paw pad while the center held a crease so deep and white that it was in danger of falling right in two. Nick looked at this picture and he looked at it often.

But why?

"You falling asleep sitting up now?" Nick's question startled Judy and she looked up to find him standing in his bedroom doorway, two plates in his hands. He'd made one for her as well and set it down near her thigh as he crawled up towards the head of his bed. "What's got you so distracted?"

"You…" She glanced down from where she'd made a half hearted attempt to hide the picture against her chest. Nick dug into his meal. "Have a picture of me in your wallet?"

The vulpine's ears twitched, the only indication that he had heard her and was perhaps nervous before nodding, head still aimed down towards his noodles and grubs.

He cleared his throat, "Yeah. Yeah, I saw the picture when we went to your parents place after I graduated and...I liked it."

Judy felt like she may be coming off as intentionally obtuse and she hated that, but she had to ask, "Why?"

Her partner forked another mouthful in before looking up to meet her violet eyes, head tilted to the side in feigned puzzlement. He truly was just a puppy. Judy felt a swell of affection in her chest directed at him just then. He swallowed his bite.

"Well," he huffed, green eyes dancing around the room, "You keep a picture of your family behind your badge." She hadn't known he'd known that. "My mom always kept a picture of my dad with her even after he…" They caught each others eyes and looked away. Another thing not talked about. "It's just...something you do with people you love. It makes me feel better...to open it up and see you there sometimes."

Judy's whole chest felt like it had seized up in the best kind of shock. For all their stolen moments, their unspoken ties, a part of her had always believed Nick still kept her at a cool distance. That all the oddities of their relationship, both public and secret, were just him humoring her emotional bunny nature. That he didn't feel the same. But now here was proof; well loved and folded in the the back right pocket of his pants.

"Jesus, Judy, don't cry!"

Nick's words were the only way the young officer even noticed that water had welled in her eyes and begun to spill down her cheeks. She hiccuped in embarrassment, free paw rushing up to wipe away the evidence as Nick put their plates off to the side. He crowded her, ushering her into his lap when soft sobs started to shake her shoulders.

"I-I'm not c-crying," she tried, a wet laugh forming under all the hysterics for how obvious her lie was. Nick gave his own huff of amusement, easing the picture from her hand gently, holding it so they can both see it while he rocked her gently. Judy cleared her throat. "I loved that picture."

"Me too." More laughter which for the bunny devolved into another round of sobs. The fox shushed her; held her tighter. "Don't cry, sweetheart."

They stayed like that for a while. Until the sun got lower and the food grew cold. Until Judy was able to calm her breathing down and they could have an honest talk about everything. What they were, what they were doing, where they were going. Together. It was long overdue and yet had come at the perfect time for them both. It was a safe and easy discussion that ended with a few soft promises before Nick got up to reheat their meal. When he came back, he slid onto the bed beside Judy which, wildly enough, he'd been doing for a while. He planted a light kiss on her lips which was new and they tucked in together.

"You know," Judy told her bed partner, "This means I need a picture of you to tuck behind my badge with the others."

"My mom definitely has some she'd be happy to give you."

Judy hummed lightly, scraping her fork across her plate. "And I'm sure my mom would just love for you to replace the picture of me and Janice you tore."

Nick had the decency to look chagrined before covering the look with a roguish smile. Judy's heart thumped a beat faster as her partner gave her a gentle squeeze. For the second time that night he gathered up their plates and placed them to the side before rolling back over the bunny, aiming his muzzle to the sensitive spot between her ears. Scenting her.

"I'm sure I'll find a way to make it up to you both."


End file.
